This application is an improvement on my prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,091, issued Jan. 11th, 1994, in which some of the subject matter disclosed herein is patented.
This invention relates to a bale cutting device for cutting baled crop material of the type having elongate elements formed into the bale so that elongate elements lie generally parallel.
The baling of crop materials particular hay or forage crops for consumption subsequently by animals has in recent years used almost exclusively the large round bale type system. In this system a cylindrical bale is formed which can be four to six feet in diameter and approximately the same in axial length. These bales are convenient for handling and the baling systems are relatively simple and straightforward.
Often for livestock kept outdoors the bale is simply deposited on the ground often surrounded by a bale feeder so that the animals can take directly from the baled material and themselves dismantle the bale.
In some cases this technique is not suitable particularly when the animals are housed and restrained. In this situation it is often desirable for the bale to be broken up so that it can be fed in separate portions to different animals.
Rectangular bales are relatively easy to break up since they are formed with the elongate elements of the crop material parallel so that the bales can simply break at a transverse plane since all the elements lie parallel to that plane.
Cylindrical bales however are very difficult to break since the elongate elements are wrapped around the axis.
Various shredding machines have been developed in which the bale is introduced into a hopper or the like and then it is abraded by rotating flails which rip the bale into small parts and ejected through a suitable duct. However these machines are expensive and have other disadvantages.
A bale slicing machine is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,649 (Benno) which includes a hopper into which the material is dropped in the bale formed together with a pair of cutting chains which extend transversely to the bale and provide a cutting action. The details of the chains are not shown but the teeth of the chains appear to be of the type conventionally used on chain saws.
U.S. Pat. 3,871,255 (Nisula) discloses a device for cutting peat band rolls which apparently comprises an arrangement having an endless chain but again the details of the chain are not shown.
Other chain cutting devices are provided for example as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,488,886 (Young), 3,006,126 (Viverette) and 4,164,835 (Conte) in which the chain carries outwardly projecting cutting blades which cooperate with stationary fingers on a sickle-knife cutting action. However none of these cutting devices are suitable for cutting bales in view of the presence of the cutting fingers and in view of the fact that the cutting edges on the chain are designed in a manner which renders them suitable for cutting with the stationary fingers but completely unsuitable for cutting a bale.